The big blue truck streaked its way down the two-lane highway. Dirt was flying up behind it and the music was blaring inside. The truck had three occupants, all laughing and singing along to the loud rock music. The highway was empty. Not a car in sight.
The fall leaves were a very pretty color and the sun was setting in the sky, creating a romantic atmosphere. The truck suddenly slowed down and swerved to the left, turning at the sign that said Cedar Tree Resort.
"Shit. You almost missed it. Fuck your driving sucks." Jackson grabbed hold of the dashboard as the truck fishtailed a few times before going straight again.
"Shut up. I thought it was farther up." Ethan glared at his best friend. Sitting in the middle was Cassandra. She looked back and forth between her two best friends and laughed.
"You guys keep arguing and we're not skinny dipping tonight." Cassandra made that announcement and the two guys stopped arguing.
The road was lined with trees that hugged the dirt road. The sun shone through the trees and after a few minutes it opened to a clearing. In the center of the clearing stood the resort, slowing disintegrating into the ground.
"This is it?" Cassandra was disappointed. She had expected a nice country resort with a few buildings, a pool, nice landscaping. This was motel was falling apart. There was one large building with peeling brown paint and dead flowers in the front. The path that led to the cabins was overgrown with weeds and in the distance; they could see three small cabins. Those buildings had the same distressed look with gray peeling paint and equally dead looking flowers.
"I guess this is why we got such a good deal. Come on." Ethan turned off the truck and got out. He reached for his bags and watched as his two best friends grabbed their things.
The three of them had been friends since elementary school. They were all the same age, exactly, and had joint birthday parties all through their childhood. In high school, each of the guys had spent time dating Cassie, but in the end, it worked out better to be friends. They had all started college in September and, unfortunately, were going to three different colleges.
Jackson was at the state college since he was a great football player and had gotten a scholarship. He was taking History and English, but would switch to Sports Management if his football career didn't take off.
Ethan was at an Ivy League school in New England. He had always wanted to be an architect like his dad and, as sort of a joke, applied to the most competitive, but well respected architecture schools in the country. He had almost fallen down when he had gotten his acceptance letter.
Cassie was at the local community college. She joked that this way she could stay at home and keep her best friends up to date on the town gossip. In reality, she couldn't afford to go anywhere else.
The three teenagers walked into the main building and glanced around. The inside looked much nicer than the outside. There was a main registration desk with a little old lady waiting for them. The hallway to the left opened to a dining room, which looked to seat about twenty people. To the right, a fancy arched entranceway opened to a ballroom with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the lake.
"Welcome. My name is Delilah. You must be Ethan, Jackson, and Cassandra. I hope you found the place all right."
"Yes we did." Cassandra liked this woman. She had a brilliant smile and although she was dressed in a red and purple tracksuit, she seemed the type to be a doting grandmother.
"Excellent. You each have your own cabin. The cabins are numbered one through three. Please do not switch cabins. It's for security reasons of course. The path to the left will lead you to them. There are a few guests staying upstairs, but I thought you would want your privacy. You might need to let the water run for a while to get clear water. The pipes are old and sometimes rust comes out in the water. Check out is Monday around eleven and breakfast is served from seven until ten."
